Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
指導教授
Bol, Peter K.
畢業年度
1995
關鍵詞
Biography; Power; Daoxuan; Chinese Buddhism; Monks
摘要
The Continued Lives of Eminent Monks, compiled by Daoxuan (thinspace XXX, 596-667) in the middle of the seventh century, is a collection of over 500 hagiographies of prominent Buddhist clerics, most of whom lived from the early sixth century to the middle of the seventh century. Among these biographical entries are numerous indications of the charismatic or miraculous powers attributed to these religious leaders.
While traditionally historians of China have avoided or discounted for their legendary qualities such materials as miracle tales and attestments of religious powers, the present study deliberately analyzes those hagiographies with the strongest presence of miracle stories and tales of superhuman abilities. By considering the specific concerns of Daoxuan, the compiler of the hagiography, in his attention to the miraculous elements in Buddhists' lives, I present an explanation of the principles behind the powers of Buddhist adepts and the various social and political tensions arising from these powers.
This study is divided into three major chapters. The first section, "Buddhism, Biography and Power," presents an historical overview of the sixth and seventh centuries, followed by essays providing general backgrounds on the history of Buddhism in this period, the tradition of Chinese and Buddhist biographical writing, the life and career of Daoxuan, and comparative approaches to the studies of saints and cults in other cultures and time periods. The second major division uses examples from the Continued Lives to describe the features of monks' powers and social authority as evidenced in their biographies. Finally, the third division of my thesis lays out a categorization of various religious powers found in the biographies and explains how Daoxuan managed through his compilation to present a resolution to the social and political tensions arising from the Buddhist monks' access to such powers.
The author will have succeeded if general readers gain an understanding of Buddhist charismatics in medieval China, and if historians of China are left with an appreciation of the social historical value to be found in the Buddhist records and a fuller sense of the particular tensions and dilemmas facing the Buddhist leadership in the early Tang dynasty
